A Dreamer's Dream

I watched this video, A Dreamer's Dream from Tyrese Gibson (with Blair Underwood and Jill Scott) and it gave me hope. Hope that there are still people who care about problems facing mankind. Are we still being judged by the color of our skin not the content of our character? Are we still filling up jails and making people millionaires? Are we still fighting each other and breaking down our marriages? Are we still complacent, waiting for someone else to fix what's wrong? What can we do to change it? It's things like standing for what is right amidst adversity, paying teachers well, justice systems that actually work or simply showing up to VOTE. Although this is a video drawing from Martin Luther King, Jr and from an American history perspective, the message is the same for any country. This message rings true for my country, Kenya. The message is the same, we are not each other's enemy!

KENYANS, what legacy can we leave for future generations? Do we still want to squabble between which tribe(s) are best suited for top government positions? Do we want someone from our own tribe as the President OR do we want a motivated President, a VISIONARY, someone who will build this country's infrastructure, make us a force to be reckoned with?  My vote is for the person who delivers that...I really don't care about the color, tribe, or sex.  Those are blinders that make us fail to see a person's character!


What dream are YOU dreaming?  I leave you with these words as spoken in the video...

"Staying home as a person of integrity on election day in 2012 is as much of an insult to Jimmy Lee as it is to your existing and unborn children who will ask you in a not too distant future, 'mother or father why didn't you show up for me?' "

It's Time We Broke Up...

I've decided to break up with my bank.  "The Listening, Caring Financial Partner" is how Equity Bank touts itself and frankly, I can't believe how these idiots are able to post positive comps every year!  My issues with Equity are that they make the customer really work to put money into their bank.  I first signed up with Equity because my employer pays our salaries through the bank so of course I was left with no choice but to open an account.  To open an account, you need someone to introduce you, as in vouch for you (If you don't have any friends to do that sorry for you, you can use the under mattress banking system).  Then, if you need an ATM/Visa Card,  Check Books etc you wait until they send a text you for pickup at the branch where you opened the account.  That's fine with me but, it's the process after that I have a problem with.  When you get to the bank, there are a million people in the banking hall.  You make the line to collect your card, then once you are done you make another line where they give you your PIN number in one of those perforated secret envelopes.  At each of these lines, they have a humongous ledger book that you have to sign.  This thing is so big that they have to switch it on its side so that it can fit on their desks (remember what was used before computers?).  Anyway, so say then that you have some other business to do at the bank, you need to make a line for each item because the tellers are only trained for their ONE duty. Can we say inefficiency?  Why can't they just cross-train their tellers so that if you make the one line, you can get all your banking issues sorted at the one window?

Rolling In The Deep

Adele - I am loving this lady right now...her voice is hauntingly amazing. How could this voice belong to a 22-year old? This is insane! What's insane is how I missed her for 3 years - what the hell was I listening to?  Now that I have woken up from the deep music slumber that I've been in, I'm not gonna let go.  I found out that she went to the same performing arts school with another one of my Brit fascinations, Leona Lewis. These Brits are beginning to prove me wrong about their musical talents:-) Take a listen and imagine yourself alive in the 30s in some backwater juke joint with some sequined diva belting out this rhythm...

Stand for Kenya!

It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog but I am revived today and think this is a worthy cause to come out of my self-inflicted hiatus! Lately, I've been seeing the Feb 28 avatar on some people's Face book profile pics and I Googled it to find out what was happening on that date. Someone came up with the great idea to unite all Kenyans on February 28 by participating in something as simple as singing our National Anthem wherever we are. While I call the idea "simple" it's impact should be felt all across the country and hopefully across the diaspora!!  This comes at a time when our news is filled with political rhetoric and bickering from mediocre leaders.  I think it is time that Kenyans who want to stand TOGETHER, under one nation, do so! That is what this Feb 28 effort means to me. I wish we could get some choppers in the air that day to film this historic event...what I would give to be a bird on that day!

If you haven't been to the website, you can read about it at http://28feb.co.ke/ and decide for yourself whether you want to participate in it or not.  Don't ask what "singing our anthem will do to our situation" just do it for the simple fact that you are a Kenyan. That you care about your country.  That you want to pray for your country.  There is no reward in efforts like this but trust me, when a people decide to do something TOGETHER, it counts for something.  That's the underlying basis of most revolts in past history (think American Civil Rights Sit-Ins led by Martin Luther King) or current events (Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain).

However, the most poignant example of a similar effort is the march for immigrant rights in the US in 2006 aka "A Day Without Immigrants." It was great, as an immigrant myself, to watch how by mere word of mouth, all Latinos across the US decided to march in their respective cities wearing white T-Shirts on May 1.  Although the general feeling was that the impact was not great...trust me, it was felt that day - Latino businesses remained closed and that would be restaurants, construction, yard companies, car washes etc.

So, in the same spirit, that is why I will be singing my national anthem on Feb 28 at 1:00pm.

I've taken the following from the Feb28 page that reads "Stand For Kenya!"

We are extremely proud to be Kenyan!
We are proud of our beautiful country!
We are proud of our diversity cultures and traditions!
We are proud of our heroes!
We are proud of our high achievers!
We are proud of being hustlers!
We are proud of our hoods!
We are proud of our tribes and twengs!
We are proud of our kanges and our mats!
We are proud of our artists and musicians!
We are proud of our industries and farms!
We are proud of our sports teams!

On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, wherever you are, at work, in the supermarket, in traffic, in school, on campus, in hospitals, in churches, in mosques, in temples, in synagogues, on sports pitches, in court, on your farm, at police stations, at armed forces barracks, in matatus, in buses, on the beach, in the game parks, at the airport, in parliament, in State House, in your homes ...

On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we stand
On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we unite
On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we shall speak in one voice.

On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, let’s sing our beautiful and powerful National Anthem, all three verses.
On the 28th February 2011 the world will watch as Kenyans stand UNITED;
1pm, 1 nation, 1 people, 1 anthem, united in 1 prayer for 1 Kenya
We are Kenya!"

Time Out

This year for our Virgo birthdays, we decided to go away for a weekend of rejuvenation.  Jonathan has been working so hard and he's also still trying to come to terms with his sister's death.  So with that, we decided to go to a place that had little to no distractions so that he could get a lot of rest.  My job was to find a place that we could enjoy solitude and be still for a moment.  I did my research and found the ultimate destination and knew that he would be really psyched at the choice of lodge/camp I picked.  I sent him off to make the payment the day prior to our departure and guess what?  The tour agent had mistakenly booked us in for the weekend after! I was livid and told Jonathan to do whatever he could to get us in there but unfortunately the camp was fully booked.  The tour agent told us about this other place and said that we would have just as much fun and seclusion there so we decided to go with her recommendation - Mbweha Camp.

Matatu Shenanigans

Image via Wikipedia

I live in Nairobi and work in Thika, which is 26 miles away (43km).  It doesn't seem like a long journey but this is Kenya and the infrastructure hasn't been developed until recently so that sends commute times through the roof!  However, the highway from Nairobi to Thika is currently under construction by the Chinese (thank you Jesus!) so the long and tedious commutes will be a thing of the past! Until then, I am one of the millions of Kenyans that take public transport every day and that usually means boarding a "matatu".  A matatu is a van that carries between 10-15 passengers and picks up and drops off passengers at bus stops that are simply known as "stage" or by a landmark feature in the area (i.e Shell gas station!) .  The origins of the word matatu are attributed to the Swahili word for three: "tatu" and also the 30 cents fare that was paid when matatus first appeared in the 60s.

Traffic Fines - Nairobi City Council

The other day I received an email detailing the new rules and fines from Nairobi City Council. I went to their website but could not locate an actual document detailing this but everyone seems to be aware of them so they must have been posted somewhere at some point.

• Pedestrians crossing the roads in Nairobi when traffic light is red – Fine Kshs. 10,000/=
• Motorist moving on when the traffic light is red – Fine Kshs 10,000/=
• Pedestrians crossing the road while talking on their mobile phones – Fine Kshs. 500/=
• Boarding/Alighting at non designated matatu stops -  Fine 10,000/=
• Unfastened seat belt  - Fine Kshs 500/=
• Worn out tyres (yes that's how tires is spelled over here) - Fine Kshs 10,000/=
• Double parking - Fine  Kshs 20,000/=

For anyone who has survived Nairobi roads, the introduction of fines seems sensible enough but lets be real...the cops might need to get a ticket themselves for not following the NCC rules!  No. 2 is a very good example - Jonathan and I try very hard to follow that rule but in Nairobi the cops never let motorists follow the lights (which work very well) and instead use hand signals to control traffic.    Which voids No.1 because pedestrians get confused as to when they should cross the road...sometimes the cops tell motorists to go on a red light and sometimes on a green light so what's a pedestrian to do?  Ok, anyone caught doing a No.3 needs to be doubly fined for stupidity because its nothing short of a death wish to cross Nairobi roads while talking on their celly!    

With regards to No. 5, I'm wondering who is going to get charged for "unfastened seat belt".  I ride a matatu everyday to work and trust me, on Thika Road you don't have to tell me to fasten my seat belt.  However, some of these matatus have actually severed the seat belts while others are so dirty that you risk catching a disease by touching them at all.  Others have a belt with a tongue but no buckle and worse some have a belt, tongue, buckle and no adjuster.  No adjuster means that even if you strap yourself, the belt will not hold if the matatu comes to a sudden stop...imagine yourself flying through the air!  So, in the case of the severed seat belts who will incur the fee during a traffic stop - is it the matatu owner, matatu driver/conductor or the innocent passenger?

Westgate Shopping Mall

NB: As I was going through my old posts, I found this one in my drafts, meaning I never published it. I'll just go ahead and post it as I wrote it back in Nov '08, shortly after I got back to Kenya.

Westgate Mall is a trendy new mall in the Westlands area of Nairobi. This mall is the first of its kind in terms of state-of-the art facilities and incorporating different types of retail outlets under the same roof.  The mall is home to a variety of clothing stores, eateries, kid's play area, food court, casino, a book/music store reminiscent of Barnes & Noble layout, movie theater, grill & sushi bar (Onami - love this place!!), coffee shops (Artcaffe & Dormans) and Nakumatt which is a "Wal-Mart-esq" type of store. The first time I visited Westgate, I was thoroughly impressed by interior of the mall and the lighting was excellent (Kenyans you know what I mean!).

Registering to VOTE!

A new voter registration exercise was kicked off on March 22 and will last 45 days.  All Kenyan citizens over the age of 18 are required to obtain a new voter card. As luck would have it there was a registration desk set up at Kilimani Primary School, on Arwings Kodhek Road, which is on our way home.

There was one person in line in front of us so the wait was like 3 minutes…gotta love that!  The registration process was easy because the Registration Officers complete the scantron forms for you and all you have to do is produce a valid National ID card or Passport.  The only information they asked from me was my postal address.  

My left thumb print was requested on the form and the front side of my voter (elector’s) card plus two signatures on the form. They had a rag and some methylated spirit to wipe the purple ink from your finger!

All that was left to do was laminate the card…that’s where it got funny.  I saw the laminating sleeves so I assumed that they would hand you the card and a sleeve and ask you laminate it yourself.  Well, they were like "no, we can't let you do that".  So I was like, where is the laminating machine? You guessed it - no laminating machines…This is Africa… so the lamination was done motherland style using a hot charcoal iron circa 1870.   It’s the little stuff like this that remind me that I am in Africa...home:-)  She had to put the card between sheets of newspaper and then iron on top.  She burned the one from the guy in front of me but mine was done perfectly!

So here I am, a bona fide card-carrying Kenyan voter!  Now all I have to do is figure out which one of these clowns in Parliament I should cast my vote for!

Sierra Lounge Bar & Brasserie

Yesterday we finally made it to Church for Easter Sunday Service at 8:30am! After Church we decided to go home and relax for an hour or so and then headed out for our Easter Lunch at Sierra Lounge, located on the third floor at Yaya Center.  Sierra Lounge at Yaya is the second installment from founder, Alan Murungi, who is the brains behind the Sierra Lounge Bar & brasserie on Mombasa Road by Panari Sky Center.  it's the first microbrewery in East & Central Africa and boasts beer production made from pure barley malt, with no additives or substitutes!  According to Sierra's website,their beer production also follows the German Purity Law. I'm not a fan of beer but I am a fan of purity and authenticity when it comes to food or drinks!

Super Retail Deals

…those words always get my juices flowing and then I remember “Damn, I’m in Kenya and the deals ain’t that great over here.”  In Atlanta, I was a shopping fanatic so words like Super Retail Deals were like music to my ears, food for my soul! I can say with unabashed certainty that almost 95% of all my possessions have been bought at a bargain/discount/clearance, whatever.  As a rule, I never paid full price on an item because I knew that it was going to go on sale at some point.  In the States, that rule held hard and fast …about every 50 days an item will reduce in price.  Also, there was always a calendar holiday around the corner so I timed my major purchases to those special sale days. 

Back to present day Kenya.  I pass by tons of stores that promise tons of discounts but when I go in I almost always come out empty-handed.  That’s because there are no “true” sales here, at least in my opinion.  If an item costs $50, then the sale here will be $49 and the stores think that they are saving everyone loads of money.  If the sale is really good, the price tag will read $47.50. For a girl like me used to 60-90% off original price, a sale in Kenya is like toying with my emotions.  The other day, I was lured by a flashy booklet from Safaricom, with SUPER RETAIL DEALS emblazoned in red and I quickly went through it looking at all the cool phones and laptops that were on sale.  My phone was stolen last year and I am now rolling with a “Nokia China Phone” which is a Chinese-made Nokia knockoff that was really cheap.  It comes with two batteries because the battery lasts about 2 hours…yeah, you get what you pay for.

Ok, back to Safaricom and the little booklet of great deals.  I see lots of phones I would like to get my little pudgy hands on so I fish into my purse for my trusty calculator and damn, damn, damn who the hell is paying this much for phones over here? I’m still converting Kenya Shillings to dollars (78/- exchange rate used) so that I know whether I’m getting a good deal or not.  Well, for a third world country, Kenya has some people with some serious cash because I’ve seen these phones with just about any regular Joe.  I consider myself a regular Joe but I cannot afford the nicer phones …even with the great deals! Now you are wondering how much a simple phone could be, right? Using the booklet, I’ve listed the prices of the phones that are termed as Super Deals! Some prices are OK (if you count buying said phone abroad, unlocked and shipping) but some prices are just outrageous! Unlocking phones in Kenya will not cost you more than $20!! I will let you decide whether I’m just a cheapskate or we need to alert the World Bank to stop sending aid to Kenya because people are spending their food money on phones!

Sleek Offers:

Samsung Omnia – 30,199 ($387)*Verizon has it for $299*SelectGSM for 349

Nokia 6700 – 21,999 ($282)

LG Renoir – 34,499 ($442)

LG KF 510 – 14,699 ($188)

Nokia 6303 – 10, 999 ($141)

Super Deals:

Samsung Ruggedized – 8,999 ($115)

Nokia 3120 – 7,999 ($102)

Nokia 5130 – 9,099 ($116)

Motorola W388 – 4,499 ($57)

Nokia 2330 – 4,299 ($55)

Business Phones:

Nokia E52 – 24,999 – ($320)

Nokia E63 – 18,999 – ($243)

Nokia E71 – 27,999 ($358)

Nokia E72 – 37,499 ($480)*found unlocked one for $379 from SelectGSM

Samsung i780 – 26,749 ($342)

Blackberry Devices:

Blackberry Bold 9000 – 66, 499($852)

Blackberry Javelin 8900 – 56,199 ($720)

Blackberry Storm – 79,999 ($1025) Yikes, found an unlocked one from Verizon for $380!

Blackberry Curve 8320 – 47,649 ($610)

Blackberry Pearl 8100 – 22,999($294)

Mobile TV Phones:

Nokia N97 – 46,999 ($602)*Unlocked 529 from SelectGSM 

Nokia E75 – 34,999 ($448)

Nokia N96 – 36,999 ($474)

Nokia N85 – 33,649 ($431)

Nokia 5800 – 23,999 ($307)

Great Deals: *These are the only ones I consider “real” deals*

Nokia 1680, 1662, ZTE S312 Simu Ya Solar – 2,999 ($38)

Samsung Crest FM – 2,599 ($33)

LG KP 105 – 2,349 ($30)

Nokia 1208 – 2,199 ($28)

Laptops:

Acer Aspire One AOD 250(Mini) – 29,999 ($384)*$289 on Amazon

Acer Extenza 5635Z – 49,999 ($602)

Dell Inspiron 1420 – 59,999 ($769)

HP Pavillion DV 61330ei – 74,999 ($961)*$799 on Amazon

Moral of the story: Do your shopping to make sure you are getting a "Super Retail Deal!"

Happy Birthday Jane & Ian!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Today is a special day for both my mother (54) my youngest brother (23) so here's to wishing them a fabulous day and good health so that we can celebrate many many more special days! Moms is at home today probably missing her last born who is on holiday in Aussie (would want to know what kind of stuff he's getting into over there!)  My moms had Ian when she was 31 years old and that was her last and fourth child...I'm older than that and cannot imagine having ONE child at my age.  Truth be told I already think that having Jonathan and Joi as enough to deal with:-)  If I had 4 kids I would go absolutely nutters!  So, let's give it up for our parents generation that had kids at a young age and still managed to enjoy their life!

Sky High

I'm missing my boys and I just saw them both yesterday! Joi, my orange tabby, was first to go...off to the boarding house for a week. Sunday morning I was trying to clean out his carrier and he knew what that meant - going to the Vet's! So he did what any self-respecting cat would do when threatened with some sort of "imprisonment" - he fled and tried to find one of his hard-to-reach hiding spots. We had a couple of hours so I gave him time to play his little hide-and-seek games. Without any effort from me, the little spoiled brat got hungry and had to come out in search of some good eats and that's when I nabbed him and put him in his carrier and off to the vet for his week-long stay. Sob!

Jonathan spent his day at the airport trying to do his flight planning for his 7-day trip round the North Eastern part of Kenya. All he could think about was how hot it was going to be over there. The veterans of the NE told him not to worry about the heat because he could tell the guest house workers to "pull his bed outside". I was like, "oh hell to the no! There are scorpions out there in the desert and God-knows what else! Yikes! My advice is shut the door, go commando and sweat it out in the house until morning!" Sleep is overrated anyway.

I thought it would be cool if I could plot his stop-over locations on Google Earth and follow him around on my laptop...didn't know GE doesn't have a plot/mapping feature. I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out what a GIS application was and after all that effort, couldn't find one I could download to help me plot the points!! I ended up using Google Maps as seen below! So, let's all 'look in' on Jonathan and cheer him on during his first Kenyan long-distance, multi-stop flight! To hell with the scorpions, snakes, desert critters and scorching heat, we are logging in some hours! Yay!


View Jonathan's Flight Path in a larger map

Another Security Issue!

Last night, Jonathan and I are watching a movie when suddenly we hear screams, screech of tires and what sounded like "commotion". We raced to the balcony in time to see a saloon car screech up the hill and head out of our gate. Simultaneously, we see a haphazardly parked SUV right below our apartment block (we are on the 3rd floor) parked right at the edge, kids and a woman jumping out and fleeing behind the buildings. By this time, most of our neighbors are also on their balcony's wondering what the hell just happened.

The SUV belongs to one of my neighbors, Beatrice Kones, MP in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Evidently, she was on her way home and noticed a car behind her but didn't think that there was any need to worry as the car had red plates (license plates usually given to foreign consuls, UN diplomats, etc). When the guards opened the gate for her, the other car was still trailing behind. As she maneuvers into her regular spot, two guys with guns suddenly jump out of the saloon car and are at the driver and passenger windows in seconds. She said they spoke good Swahili and they seemed calm and confident. Next thing she knew, she backed out of her spot in a frenzy, started screaming and drove down to the hill to the end of our complex (which is a very short distance, say 30 yards). She and her passengers jumped out and ran behind the buildings to hide from the perps. Meanwhile, unbeknown to her, one of the guards is on the floor at the mercy of a guy pointing a gun to his head. The other guard, in a panic, had taken off to hide behind the buildings. When Kones asked him whether he had a panic button he indicated that the guards had nothing to alert the security service nor the police. WOW...There was one nagging thought though - where the hell was her security detail? One of the residents allegedly claims that she had seen the "GK" security vehicle about two hours earlier. Curious. I know most of the residents share my sentiment that Kones better use her office to take care of this problem. According to her ministry's home page, their objectives are to:
- Improve the supervision, rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders
- Facilitate the administration of justice
- Regulate and control the Gaming Industry
- Contain offenders in safe custody

The good part of this story is that everyone is alive and no one was hurt in the ordeal. However, it raises yet another issue about the security in Nairobi. If you have been following Martin's story (previous post) you are aware that the march was successful and garnered the response of the press, police as well as Prof. George Saitoti, Minister of State for Provincial Administration & Internal Security. He met with the parents of the deceased and promised them that the government was working on apprehending the culprits as well as working the crime zones and replacing street lights. It was also reported that 40 suspects had been rounded up in connection with the case. I'm not even going to comment on these alleged suspects because we all know that the police probably rounded up 40 idlers in the city center so that it would look like there was really an investigation going on. Kenyans don't want promises, they want ACTION. Kenyans want to know that they can count on their government to keep them safe at all times. We shouldn't have to take to the streets so that our grievances can be heard.

Brutality on Kenyan Roads

In the early morning hours of January 17, 2010, Martin's car stalled on Uhuru Highway. In the minutes that it took to call his friends (who were a few cars back) to help him out, he was brutally attacked by a gang of thugs and left for dead. He was rushed to Nairobi Hospital but all efforts to save him were unsuccessful. He died less than 24 hours after that brutal attack. A young life, snuffed out in the blink of an eye. He had proposed to his girlfriend just a few weeks prior and was getting ready to walk down the aisle in May. Read the story here by Sunday Nation.

Today is a bittersweet day. I will be attending a march (@2pm from Baricho Rd to Uhuru Highway)organized by Moses Kahia for his late cousin, friend and colleague, Martin Gitehi Njuma. In commemorating the deceased, this walk is first and foremost to bring attention to the lack of security on Kenyan roads. Hopefully, this march will demonstrate to the authorities that it is their job to protect us. It should also demonstrate to fellow Kenyans that it our fundamental right to speak up and demand a safe city. The march should also bring awareness and caution to those unaware of the danger zones (people like me who didn't know about all the danger zones reported in the Sunday Nation story).

From what I've read/heard, the place that the attack occurred (Makaburini near Bunyala Rd roundabout) is a known DANGER spot. My question to the authorities is: HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS IS A KNOWN DANGER SPOT AND NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? In my head, the solution is really simple...how about you station some policemen there (and all other danger zones) as part of their beat? This is the problem with how the authorities work in a country like Kenya - unless there is a prominent figure of state living in close proximity, the police will not care to station/monitor that area. Citizens are all left at the mercy of these gangs and the police are still twiddling their thumbs wondering where their next "CHAI" (read: bribe) will come from. And the worst thing is that these punks who are attacking people senseless, are stealing petty items like wallets and mobile phones! How do you justify killing someone to steal those items?

What irks me is that the authorities claim that this was an isolated incident as reported in the Sunday Nation. A lot of people have blogged that the area is dangerous and this has been a known fact for years because there have been numerous cases reported. So, dear authorities, IF this was such an isolated case, WHY in heaven's name did you NOT record this in your INCIDENT book? And to add insult to injury, the Central police station boss Richard Muguai made a comment that "The young man put himself in danger by driving at that time of the night." WHAT? Are you kidding me? So there are alloted times of the night to drive? Why? Oh, is it that there is possibly CRIME happening at that time? CRIME that your police force should be handling? Give me an effing break - these clowns are smoking some ISH and they need to stop. How can the Central Police Boss be so callous with his remarks? What if this were his son or daughter? Would his remarks be as callous then? Let's not forget that Martin was a pilot so if the authorities remarks are correct, all those who work those 'anti-social' hours (pilots, nurses, doctors, construction, etc) should ditch their jobs because they shouldn't be driving at that time of the night. What planet is this so called boss from? It's no wonder that tourism has also dropped in Kenya...if Kenyans themselves think that the roads are UNSAFE, how are we going to entice foreigners to come here? Hell, If truth be told, most of us just wanna get the first ship out of dodge.

Love This Song...

I love Alicia ..and this song is playing on repeat on my Ipod. I think most people who have been in a relationship can attest to feeling this way sometime in their lives.

Lyrics

Back OnLine

I'm back online...in a dedicated kinda way! Big Ups to Africa Online for coming all the way to the Coconut Grill and hooking us up with WI-FI!! Yeah, so stay tuned, will be back to posting like never before! I've got soooo much to share with y'all!

iamblackstar.com

I need to shout out Smallz and the Blackstar Family for doing their thing! With two TV shows and a bunch of gigs under their belt, this is the entertainment company of the future! This is a company that is diversifying their talent the best way they know how - Music & Entertainment, Apparel, Digital, Comics, Films...and all people wanna do is hate and talk about them as DJs. That might have been where it started but that's not the end of their story. This is the company to watch out for and if they had stock, I would buy up some shares in a jiffy. Blackstar for life!

Passport & ID Issues

I went to Nyayo House last week to get a replacement passport but couldn't get it due to a little thing called a Kenyan ID! My current passport expires in 2010 but I need a new one because when I re-entered Kenya, the guy at immigration had changed the stamp to August 2009. So, technically, I'm not really in Kenya. As I have been told, this will cause me problems if I need to leave the country before that date. That is why I needed a replacement passport. I got my passport pictures, two of which needed to be certified by a lawyer and also got my form "recommended" by the same lawyer (this is #7 in PP1 form). Stood (and sat...they have chairs) in line for about 4 hours (which ain't that bad considering they sent us away for their lunch break between 1-2!) and finally when I get to the counter the agent throws my form back at me saying, "where is your ID?" and I calmly explain that I do not have one but I have taken all the steps required and just waiting for it to be printed (I was being Ms. Nice, Killin' him with kindness and showing off my pearly whites). He then asks me why I need a new one when I still have some pages left over and I explain the entry-stamp issue. He asks me how the stamp can have a wrong date as if I could have my own stamp made and wrongly stamp my own passport...sheesh! At any rate, he tells me that he cannot issue my replacement passport without a Kenyan ID (I stated that this was my third passport and my lack of ID had never been an issue)and questions why I never got one when I previously visited the country and oh, get this, how can he be sure I am a Kenyan citizen. For cryin' out loud genius, you are holding my passport in your hand...Kenya has no dual citizenship arrangement with the US and furthermore, I had the paperwork from the DO's office to show I had applied for the ID. No, dude just wants to make me suffer and since he is the one behind the glass, he wins. This time.

I leave the immigration hall fuming and wondering what kind of satisfaction the guy got out of wasting my time! I make a couple of calls and find out that I can go the NSSF building (National Social Security Fund) and have someone tell me when my Id would be printed. OK, so I'm an old hag (by Kenyan standards) but that should be no reason that I cannot get an ID right? Isn't it my right as a citizen, regardless of what age I choose to do it at? Well, not so fast. Since I never actually got an ID before I left there are a few issues as I am considered a "late registrant" and there are a couple of checks and balances that have to be completed before they can grant me an ID. First, they have to check my name combinations in their computerized database and if my name doesn't pop up there, they have to move my request to the manual office that looks through all the manual records since the year I turned 18 (I know that was many moons ago...WOW!). The officer at NSSF informs me that they are in the "manual process" and he will try to speed up things so I can get my ID and my replacement passport.

If you find yourself in this same predicament (late registrant) here are the steps that you need to go through:

1. Get your lawyer to write an affidavit of "Late Registration" stating among other things the date you left the country or the duration that you have been away, supporting evidence such as birth certificate and other lingo that lawyers know to put in there to appease the D.O's office
2. Take a copy of the affidavit, original birth certificate, copies of your parents ID copies (both front and back). You will also need miscellaneous information that shows the village, sub-location, location, district, constituency, tribe name, clan name and family name. Yes, I know...how very COLONIAL. I couldn't believe that they still ask those things but what do you know, we are still perpetrating the same ideologies that our colonialists expected of us.
3. Go to your local D.O's office with the above and you will have to fill out a bunch of forms all asking for the same information mentioned in #2.
4. Fingerprinting and pictures will be done at the D.O's office so make sure you don't wear a hat/scarf and carry some Wet Ones because you will need them to get the black ink off your palms/fingers.
5. Once they look over all the information, they will give you a little 3X5 piece of paper that contains your names, address and a stamp from the DO. More importantly, the paper contains a serial number that you can refer to should you have any issues. They will ask you to wait 2 months before coming back for your real ID.
NOTE: I have since learned that unless there are any issues after this, you can get your ID in 2-3 weeks!! I spoke to an officer in charge of IDs at NSSF and he informed me that their SLA commitment is "within 20 days".


As for replacement ID's, I have been informed that the process is much faster...as long as you know your ID #. Go to NSSF, 7th Floor and ask for a "printout" of your ID. Take that printout to your local D.O's office and fill out the appropriate forms and that's it!!! They will also tell you it takes 2 months but my inside guy (at NSSF) says that a day after you get the 3X5 piece of paper you can take it to NSSF and you can demand that your ID be printed. Not sure about the 'demand' part but it would surely speed up stuff if they are already in receipt of your paperwork. The pictures inset show the current "second generation" ID that I am trying to get! By the end of the year, a "third generation" ID card should be ready - this card promises to tie in other industries such as banking, insurance, etc so that information redundancy is reduced. It seems promising so I'm definitely looking forward to that!!

Wow, it's already March?

I can't believe it's already March...pray tell, where did the time go? Well, I'm back from my self-imposed blogger hiatus and a lot has happened so let me do a recap of events thus far:

Nuptials: My friends Chambree & Mike, Sherry & Dannie, Steve & Jackie and cousin Fidi & Bonnie got hitched. Congratulations to the newly weds! May happiness reign over your marriages.

Overpriced Goods: Seriously thought about buying a sewing machine so I could make my own clothes! Is it just me or is Kenya really expensive? I cannot understand how Kenyans are paying these exorbitant prices for clothes (and shoes for that matter). I had to buy a simple outfit and went into a store to get some black pants and a kimono top - paid Ksh 8,800 (about $112 for some no-name stuff I could probably have bought at Macy's for $40...on clearance). I sure miss the "clearance racks!" The shoes here are outrageous as well...saw a pair of no-name shoes for 13,800 at this shop in Sarit Center. But get this, there are some PAID people in this country...when I was in the said shoe shop, some chick bought about 6 pairs of shoes and there was some fanfair about bursting some holiday balloons that were filled with free giveaways if you spent over a certain amount of money. At the first pop, I was outta there with my broke behind:-)

Honestly, I am SO glad I shipped my stuff because I'd be one of those people who would never buy anything here...especially since I know how much stuff really costs! Even at the supermarkets like Nakumatt, I am always in awe of how much some products cost..for instance, my soy milk costs Ksh395, which is a little over $5 for 1 litre (that's 0.26 gallons). Regular milk, same volume costs about $0.95! In the States, Soy Milk is also a little pricier than regular milk but you get a half-gallon carton for about $3! (at least for Silk Soymilk)!


Trips: Went on some fun trips to Ngong, Meru, Nakuru and Naivasha. Let me just say how pleasantly surprised I was at the road integrity going to Naivasha...there's lane demarcations and everything:-) We were visiting someone in Nakuru and decided that it would be cool to see the Flamingos at Lake Nakuru. We were 5 adults and a child and managed to get to the gate about an hour before sunset. The guard says that our total park entry fee is Ksh 1700 and we take pause when he says that there are no flamingos. What? Lake Nakuru with no flamingos is like being at White Water with no water!! Needless to say we declined to go into the park. Evidently, since there has been a drought of sorts for the past couple of years, two-thirds of the lake has dried up and since Flamingos are "water birds" they have migrated elsewhere. Another explanation is that some experts believe that the birds are moving away because local factories release contaminated or untreated waste into the lake There are reports that the birds have been dying in large numbers after consuming toxic waste from the town's sewage ponds. Such a pity...

The container finally arrived:...yes, after 4+ months! I was LIVID...especially after the shipper telling me that it would only take 30-45 days tops. On top of that, my boxes were damaged as well as the contents - broken, cracked glasses and serving platters; broken glass candle holders; broken CDs (that were in their protective cases); broken vacuum cleaner; missing pieces to 2 of my beds as well as a bathroom cabinet; deep dents/scratches on all my wooden stuff (beds, coffee tables, dining tables, subwoofer and bookcase). The shipper had informed me that he has shipped tons of times before and no-one ever had...get this..."even a toothpick broken!" Ok, realistically I knew that I would find something broken, it's inevitable after all, but I just didn't expect the extent of mishandling some of this stuff that was shrink wrapped by the shipper himself. At any rate, he could not tell me what process there was for recovering damages nor did he seem interested in the fact that I had paid for an apartment that I couldn't live in because my stuff did not get here until December 24th!! In addition, he informed he that he had to get an extension letter from KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority) - something about going over the length of time a shipment is supposed to arrive duty free into the country. Well, guess what? The letter that he had the audacity to show me, contained my signature...but I never signed any extension letter so guess where it came from? My passport - since he had to clear my stuff using my passport, the signature was forged from there. I guess he did what he had to do to clear the container but enough is enough. If you promise someone that their stuff will arrive in a certain amount of time and without damages, then deliver on that. I had only packed just a few clothes on the plane with me because I knew the container would arrive shortly after I did (the shipper picked my stuff up late July and the rest in the first week of August). Never did I imagine that it would take over 4 months to see any of my stuff. He did not want to hear that I was wasting money buying things while I waited for my shipment to arrive, nor that I had an empty apartment...so, I decided to short him Ksh 20K from his final payment. Think what you will...

Jonathan, Joi and I moved into our new digs: We all were separated for so long that we did not have an issue moving in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!! Joi was beside himself, probably glad to be rid of his nemesis, Scooby! Even though the house was dusty from the boxes (after all, they had traveled for 4 months and probably stopped at all god-forsaken dusty ports) we were happy to start unpacking and try to make this place a home. We moved to a spacious 3-bedroom, 3-bath apartment and at that point we were happy that it was on the ground floor. Everything else we had seen was on the 4th or 5th floors and I'd be wheezing before we got to the actual apartment. At any rate, I'm still thankful that I don't have to walk up the stairs but I'd like to off my neighbors who lives right above me. They pound on the floor with such zeal that any day now, they will land into my living room once the floor finally caves in. We tried to do the whole "WOOSA" thing and just be thankful that we had a place to call home but...I suffer from migraines and the pounding was getting the best of me. I was literally going nutters! So sweet, soft-spoken Jonathan walks up the stairs to have a friendly chat and find out what it gods name they were doing up there. The guy was nice, but who might I add can't speak English very well, (they are from another African country and we constantly hear them practicing their English on their patio) tells Jonathan that his mother has to "pound" their food and that is what the noise is. He promises to make her do it in the kitchen (yeah, we were hopeful that she would just buy a mill and grind her spices that way). I love all things culture so I'm glad they are able to eat their cultural dishes in Kenya but the madness needed to stop. Since that hopeful day, we hear pounding at 11am, 3pm and about 7pm every single day! So, sweet ol' Jonathan has to trudge back up there and find out whether they understood what they discussed the last time (English is hard but I think "STOP" is usually understood by most people). Anyway, Jonathan talks to the nice guy again and insists that he told his mom to stop with the pounding in the living room. Jonathan requests that they pick one time to do the pounding. The guy asks "when would that be" and Jonathan says "anytime we are not home!" (In an apartment it is pretty easy to know whether your neighbors are home because all the doors come with burglar proofing (a sort of wrought iron door that protects the main entry door. When people leave their homes, they padlock the burglar proofing and so everyone knows you are not home. As Jonathan is speaking to the guy, he manages to look into their living room and sees the mom sitting in the living room with the the evil contraption between her legs. Imagine a tabletop pestle and mortar...no, that's not what they are using. Imagine a wooden pestle the size of a 2x4 and a wooden mortar the size of at least a 10qt stockpot. This massive grinding apparatus is what our beloved neighbors use and due to the sheer size, they have to put it on the floor and pound the living daylights out of whatever it is that they eat. This is the soundtrack of my life. And please don't get me started on the Chinese guys that live in the block across from ours...I'm sure they are just conversing normally...but normal for them sounds like shouting and fighting words to us. The first time I heard the shouting, I went to my patio to find out what the hullabaloo was about (secretly thinking that I was going to witness some Jackie Chan moves - whatever, I'll take my kicks wherever I can get them!) Both men were involved in a rapid fire shouting match (at least that's what it sounded like to me) and I went into the house to get my trusty camera (Jonathan wasn't home but you know how he loves those old Kung Fu so I was going to get him some footage) but to my dismay...I found those fools laughing instead of doing some deadly "tiger claw" or "invisible palm fist" moves! Damn.

Aggie the champ: My niece is so competitive that she is the best swimmer in her school so we definitely were there to cheer her on at the swimming gala at Aga Khan High. At her school's talent day, she got 3 trophies and get this, the boys all wanna be her - she is the best in soccer and swiped the soccer MVP award as well. I cannot count how many nights she slept with her trophies and how many pictures I took of her doing her gangsta pose with her trophies. Kids, gotta love 'em!

Sweat Shop: For New Year's some of the family decided to help Dad out in his newly opened club called "Cocobase" that's located in the basement of his restaurant, Coconut Grill, located in Thika Town, right by the Tusky's shopping complex. It was a crazy night and we were crazy busy and everyone had to do whatever they could to chip in as we were expecting a large crowd. That night, I worked as the Maitre'd, waitress, busboy, bartender and dough boy for this one dude who thought I was his personal waitress. We had fireworks at midnight and I didn't even hear them or see them...I was up to my neck with people and alcohol. I actually decided that I'd had enough of the restaurant and smiling and decided to go to the basement and get a stiff drink, some music and some dancing on. NO SUCH LUCK. Didn't know Moms was bartending and as soon as I try to order a drink she's like, "get in here and help me out!" All I have to say at this point is that I respect bartenders!! It's exciting and grueling at the same time and for me, I was sweating buckets...there are all these Kenyan beer names that I'm not used to, Tequila's with funny names I've never heard of (and I know Tequila)...crazy crazy. On top of that, Kenya has currency that looks similar (like the 20 and 40 shilling coin look exactly the same) so I had some arithmetic issues. As if that wasn't enough, the lingo is somewhat different - they have "tots" here as opposed to "shots" and slang for the beer that I knew nothing about! Eerrr, imagine there are like 30 people all surrounding the bar shouting their orders because they think you are ignoring them...I tune them out and make eye contact with a guy who orders, "GK baridi, White Cap lite moto, Tusker Milli moto, tot ya Zappa na cordial." Bloody Hell, can you repeat your order? Moms is working like a pro and smiling at me and I'm thinking it would be so much easier if someone could just order a Bud so I could say, "we don't have that!" and move on to the next victim. Anyway, a couple who was sitting right at the bar look at me like I just stepped off the short bus and proceed to help me. Translation: GK = Guinness Kubwa (Guinness Stout in Kenya comes in two sizes - one that comes in a Bud-type of bottle with the long neck and another big one "kubwa". White Cap also comes in two sizes and the long-neck one is the "lite" version and "moto" means "warm". Most Kenyans drink their beer warm...so they will usually denote warm/cold for any drink they order. Tusker Milli is the most famous Kenyan beer so I knew that...but I think the Milli is a promo that had a grand prize of a million Kenya shillings (If I'm wrong someone correct me!) and the Zappa thing was a shot of a South African "Sambucca" with a shot of lime cordial. Christ...now all I had to do was figure out how much to charge? Dude, it was the worst and best couple of hours that I've had since I came out here. There's also a difference between the Tusker Malts as one chick calmly told me, "give me the one with the emblem" not the other one. Mmmhhh, not sure what this is about but sure enough, some Tusker Malt bottles have a crest (or emblem) and some don't (can someone explain that as well?). Needless to say, I crept up to my room at about 3:30am completely exhausted...and the club was still kickin'! I left my Moms bartending...ain't no shame in my game:-) When I got up, about 8am, my father was still at the bar with my uncles...what the hell are these guys made of???

President Barack Obama’s Inauguration: Need I say more? To say that I am happy that I got to see the first Black President elected leader of the free world does not even begin to describe how I felt on that day. This is a guy who stands for CHANGE and I totally support President Obama and have faith that he will bring America out of this recession and be the change that we prayed for during the Bush years. Not everyone may not agree with me but that's okay, his good work will speak for him. One thing is for sure any change is better than no change...and that is where America was headed the last 8 years.

Dad hospitalized: Yeah, our strong patriarch had to give in to the demands of his body and found out that he was a mere mortal. Dizzy spells, double vision and pressure in his head were some of the symptoms and after a whole bunch of tests and a whole bunch of money, the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong but one thing was for sure - he was suffering from exhaustion. Dad is a workaholic, smokes and drinks and I'm sure all these factors added up to produce the symptoms. We're just glad that he is doing great, only going to work every other day and he even tried to quit smoking. OK, so it was during his stint at the hospital and the week after but he tried:-)